Turtle Soup
by Aquamarine1212
Summary: Family. Sometimes it's broken, sometimes it's strong, but it's always at their core. A series of one-shots written to explore the characters of TMNT and their relationships with each other. Written for the TMNT 100 Themes Challenge. Ratings vary between K and T, and pairings will vary. Will mostly be in the 2k12 universe.
1. Intro

**Rating : K**

 **Word Count: 1,715**

 **Universe: 2k12 Cartoon. Takes place sometime between "Rise of the Turtles" and "New Friend, Old Enemy".**

 **So, I decided to take the TMNT 100 Themes Challenge. I figured that maybe it would help me stop posting so many oneshots for this fandom and also give me something to do when I'm stuck in my other stories and need a way to get my creative juices flowing again. Most (if not all) of the drabbles will be in the 2k12 universe, as it is the one I am most familiar with. The drabbles can run anywhere from 500 to 5,000 words. In other words, don't expect consistency. Also, everything will be kept T and under, and I'll post the rating beforehand for any of the younger audiences who may happen to be reading.**

 **If anyone is wanting to also take the challenge, you can find the list of themes by searching up "Tmnt 100 themes challenge". It shouldn't be too hard to find. I found it on both DeviantArt and tumblr. If you really can't find it I can provide you with a link.**

 **For now, that's all. Ciao!**

 **I do not own TMNT.**

* * *

 _001\. Intro_

April hadn't really known what she was expecting, but it wasn't _this._

"You live...in the sewers?" she asked with a blank expression.

"Actually in an old subway station," Donatello corrected her. He held the lid of the manhole while his brothers climbed down. She could practically feel the nervous anticipation coming from him. "I know it's not ideal...but this is the easiest way to get there." He gestured towards the dark hole. Even from a few feet away April could feel the cool draft leaking out, and smell an unpleasant aroma wafting from below. She glanced incredulously from the hole to Donatello.

"Do I have to walk in the sewage?" she asked in dread.

"What? No!" Donatello sputtered out, shaking his head. "There are walkways." April's face fell in relief. She shuffled forwards and glanced down, the smell of sewage hitting her as she peered in. It was too dark to make out anything.

"I should have worn my hiking boots," she said with a sigh, shouldering her backpack. She had a feeling her uggs wouldn't last long after this trip. She scooted backwards, hooking her feet on the ladder, then made a slow descent. Donatello followed after her, pulling the cover over the manhole and sending them into darkness.

It had taken her a week to convince them to let her come visit, and a little raw sewage wasn't about to stop her.

For the next half hour, April blindly followed the turtles as they navigated the tunnels with ease, twisting and turning until she had no sense of direction. She had a feeling that the over-complicated route was intentional. They were ninjas after all - even without being mutants they needed secrecy. Finally they emerged into a large railway tunnel. April squeezed her way out of the sewer tunnel and let out a breath of relief. It certainly wasn't clean here, but at least there wasn't a river of toilet-flushings churning next to her. They trekked down the railway tunnel, carefully avoiding the rails. April was just about to ask them if they were close yet when a pleasant smell suddenly drifted their way. Was that...air freshener?

"Home sweet home!" Michelangelo crowed, dashing ahead of the group. April glanced over at Leonardo, who was carefully avoiding looking at her and twisting his hands. She followed Mikey, unsure of what she might find.

She climbed a small flight of steps and hopped over a row of turnstiles, then let her eyes roam around and soak up the room in front of her. In the middle of the room there was a 'pit' of sorts, littered with cushions and beanbag chairs, and a small television with several cooking utensils connected to it and wires exposed. Above it was a spiraling staircase that hung in midair and seemed to lead to nowhere. To the right was a moat and and a few paper dividers set up in archways, and to the left was a huge set of metal doors. Straight ahead looked to be a hallway of some kind. In the pit, Mikey was pulling a drawer out of a plastic shelf with uncontrolled enthusiasm.

"Welcome to our lair dudette!" he said with a huge grin on his face.

" _Lair?_ " Raphael snorted. Mikey just stuck his tongue out in defiance.

"Come look at all my games!" Michelangelo squealed. In an instant he had dashed over to April, grabbed her by the wrist, and dragged her over to the pit. April squawked in surprise, but by the time she had found her bearings they were already in the pit and Mikey was kneeled next to the drawer he had pulled out.

"Are you a gamer? Do you play games?" Mikey chattered, pulling out discs in cracked plastic cases. "I've got all the retro ones!"

"Oh um, just a few…" April said, looking at the games dumbfoundedly. She hadn't heard of most the titles in the bin - probably because they looked like they were from the nineties.

"Oh!" Mikey jumped up in excitement. "You've gotta see my comic collection too! Come'on!"

"Whoa whoa whoa," Leonardo quickly interjected before Mikey could drag her somewhere else. "Mikey, she just got here. Calm down." Mikey's face fell in disappointment.

"Okay, fine, I'll show you later," he said a bit dejectedly. Then his eyes lit up with sudden excitement. "Do you want a tour? I can totally give you a tour!" From behind her, she could hear Raphael sigh and slap a hand on his face.

"Sure Michelangelo," April said warmly.

"Yes!" Mikey pumped his fists. "One tour Mikey-style, coming up!" He grabbed her by the wrist again and dragged her across the room. "First we'll go to the most important room, the kitchen!" April smiled broadly at his enthusiasm. If nothing else, he was certainly striving to make her feel welcome, and she appreciated the effort.

First was the kitchen, which was small and filled with appliances that had obviously had some work done to make them usable. Mikey enthusiastically showed her the content of their fridge - it was a collection of random half full packages of slightly spoiled food, along with a huge bucket of green plant goo. Her face went a little green when a worm poked out of the bucket. Mikey offered her a cup full of algae, but she quickly cobbled together an excuse to reject it.

Next he brought her to the hallway, and pointed out which doors led to each of their rooms. He brought her into his room and showed off his comic collection, although all April could really focus on was the floor - or rather, the sea of junk that covered it. After that he tried to show her his brothers rooms, but they quickly put a halt to his tour as soon as the idea was suggested.

Then Donatello had eagerly brought her to his lab. Mikey meanwhile, was pouting about how his job had been stolen. Donatello's lab was admittedly impressive. There were all kinds of tools scattered around his work area, and a huge shelf of labeled chemicals on the wall. He even had two fully functioning turbine mixers, and a huge box full of spare tech parts he used to build his machines.

"Wow, this is so cool!" April gushed, looking through all the lab equipment. "I wish our school science labs had this kind of stuff in them!"

"R-really?" Donatello asked with huge, brown eyes. A smile was creeping on his lips.

"I've always wanted a lab, but since I live in an apartment…" April shrugged. "Not really a great idea. Although my dad hooked up a Bunsen burner once. That was cool." Donatello's eyes lit up and a dorky grin filled his face.

"You like science?" he questioned hopefully.

"It's one of my favorite classes," she replied, looking through a microscope at a slide Donatello had left in. "Whoa, this paramecium is undergoing binary division!"

"You're so cool," Donatello said in awe.

"Aw man, she's a nerd?" Mikey whined from the door. Donnie sent a glare in his direction, but April dismissed it, too engrossed in the microscope. Once they were finally torn away from the lab, there was only one place left to go.

"So what's over there?" April asked, pointing at the paper dividers next to the moat. Leonardo's face lit up immediately.

"That's the dojo. Do you want to see?" he asked her hopefully. April nodded and followed Leo, noticing that the three other boys were trailing behind her.

"Splinter's in there."

"Yeah, we know, doofus."

"But shouldn't we tell her…?"

"Good idea. Go ahead."

"What? No, _you_ tell her."

"Why me?"

April frowned as the whispered fighting continued behind her. What was it that they were so nervous about saying? She cautiously followed the oldest turtle into the dojo, tense with anticipation. Whatever it was couldn't be that shocking-

"Is this April?"

April froze at the sight before her. Next to a large tree growing under a skylight stood a giant rat, with black beady eyes and a long pink tail sticking out of the robe he was wearing. In his hand was a jade staff, and the two big, rat ears twitched on top of his head. And even as a giant rat, he stood with a certain grace and authority. April made a small noise of disbelief.

"Oh, April, this is Splinter," Leonardo introduced with a nervous look. "He's our father." Splinter observed her with a keen, almost suspicious look.

"Your...father," April repeated dumbly. Five pairs of eyes all fixated on her as she tried to find her bearings. "It's...it's an honor to meet you sir." She stuck out her hand for a handshake, still blinking in surprise. Splinter observed her hand and noticed how it didn't tremble with fear.

"Likewise, April-san," Splinter took the offered hand and they exchanged handshakes. "Are you finding our home to be...satisfactory?"

"Yeah, do you like it?" Mikey asked eagerly, bouncing up and down. April glanced back at the four turtles. All of them were waiting for her answer with the utmost attention. It struck her that she was the first visitor they had ever had, probably the first person outside the family they had ever even met. It also dawned on her that by allowing her into their home, they had taken a huge risk of being found out, but had trusted she wouldn't betray them. April suddenly felt ashamed at the way she had been hassling them about letting her visit. They had only known her a few short weeks and they had entrusted her with their secret. She wasn't sure she deserved that kind of confidence.

"I love it," April smiled genuinely, and Mikey squealed with excitement.

"Do you hear that guys? She loves it!" Mikey grabbed April and gave her a hug that knocked the wind out of her. "You're the best April!" After he finally let her go, she turned to Splinter again.

"Thank you for letting me into your home," April said.

"I trust that you understand the vitality of our location remaining unknown," Splinter replied gravely.

"Of course," April said seriously, nodding her head. April resolved that she would earn that trust they had placed in her, piece by piece. No matter how long it took.


	2. Smile

**Rating: K+**

 **Word Count: 1,729**

 **Universe: Ambiguous**

 **I do not own TMNT.**

* * *

 _002\. Smile_

It was a rainy week in New York, one of the wettest in years. The clouds cried upon the city for days on end, bringing a torrent of water, trickling down the street and cascading down drains. Everything was dark with the dampness, and the sky remained a constant smoky gray, the sun never daring to show it's face. Miserable residents hurried through the rain with upturned collars and ducked heads while teary-eyed tourists watched from hotels and bemoaned at their poor luck.

Even deep below the city, in winding labyrinths of pipes, the effects of the rain were evident. Tunnels were overflowing with drainage, churning in a mad race underneath the streets. Subway stations flooded over and travel by train made nigh impossible. For New Yorkers, it was a crippling thing, to have the subway nonfunctional. Businesses all over received weary phone calls reporting those who could not find a way to get to their jobs. Truly, New York had not seen anything like it for quite some time.

Not so far below an old apartment complex, an abandoned subway station was currently housing five highly unusual occupants. They moved about with purpose, clearing items from shelves and packing boxes. An old rat carefully rolled up dozens of oriental rugs, his delicate hands having just the slightest shake to them. Meanwhile, his four sons were working to clear the rest of the station.

"The television's unhooked," Donatello called out from the pit. "Raph, Mikey, can you haul it up to the attic?"

"'Course," the red masked turtle replied. He came over and hauled the old tv over his shoulder, then tossed it lightly up to Michelangelo who stood on the suspended staircase above the pit. Michelangelo caught it with a bit of a backwards stumble, but once he recovered he was dashing up the stairs with uncontained energy.

"Nice toss!" Mikey crowed, his voice fading as he disappeared into the "attic". What it really was was rows of wooden boards secured across the pipes weaving around on the ceiling- a crude sort of platform, but sturdy enough to hold a decent amount of weight. Michelangelo plopped the television down next to other pieces of furniture that were being stowed there. Donatello had fashioned the "attic" in just one afternoon, in the hopes they could save some of their belongings from the tide that was sure to sweep in.

"I have our blankets and food packed, and April's coming down to help us load them into the van," Leo announced, appearing from behind his bedroom door.

"Great, we're almost done getting the furniture up into the attic," Donatello said. "Although I don't think we can save the stove or the refrigerator. I put them up on some cinder blocks and covered up all the wires, but I'm not sure how much good it will do."

"You can fix it when we come back," Leo reassured him. "Where's father?"

"Packing up the dojo," Donnie sent a slightly concerned glance in the direction of the room. "Maybe someone should go check on him...just in case."

"I will!" Mikey was down from the attic in an instant and dashing towards the dojo. Leo and Donnie shared an amused glance. It seemed that Mikey would never mellow out - but that was fine by them. It meant he kept them on their toes, which they all needed.

Mikey, brimming with energy, bounced as he entered the dojo. For a moment he paused, a bit thrown off by the lack of decor in the room. The dojo felt wrong without the old musty rugs, the smell of incense and the racks of weapons. He shivered a little - an empty dojo was just unsettling. A slight flicker of relief struck him when he spotted Splinter in the corner. He brushed off his thoughts and made his way over towards Splinter, who was slowly packing old photos into a bin.

"Hey dad! You need any help with that?" Mikey asked cheerfully, kneeling next to the mutant rat.

"I am almost done," Splinter said in a cracked voice that Mikey still couldn't get used to. "If you would like to help you may take the photos off that shelf." Splinter gestured to his right. Eager to be useful, Mikey dashed over and started to snatch photos off. He grabbed several group shots of him and his brothers (some taken unknowingly) but his hand paused when he reached a picture with Splinter in it. Raph was scowling (as per usual), Leo and Donnie had pleasant smiles, and Mikey was grinning like it was the best day of his life. Splinter was standing with two of his sons on either side. An easy smile lit his face. The picture was nothing special. He couldn't recall there being any occasion. Yet the photo stirred a sort of nostalgia in him.

Mikey missed the days when his sensei could smile without a trace of pain in his face, without a ghost of weariness hovering behind him. The youngest turtle rubbed his thumb over the glass.

"Going through photos can provoke old memories and desires," Splinter's voice was right behind Mikey and the turtle nearly jumped out of his shell. He fumbled with the picture for a second, nearly dropping it.

"Sensei!" Mikey stammered. "Don't creep up on me like that!" Splinter let out a chuckle that turned into a bit of a cough. Mikey hovered a little closer to his father, a worried expression on his face. Mikey placed a hand on Splinter's shoulder until the coughing died out.

"So," Splinter said in a thin tone. "What are you thinking about?"

"Oh," Mikey cast his eyes down at the picture in his hands. "Just..remembering. When was this anyways?"

"Ah," Splinter fondly took the photograph out of Mikey's hands. "This was when you were seventeen. April was taking a photography class and had a very nice camera. She offered to take our picture with it. Raphael had just lost to you in Mario Kart." He pointed at Raphael's scowling face.

"You remember that?" Mikey stared at Splinter in awe.

"Of course," Splinter rumbled. "How could I forget the reason for such a displeased face?" Mikey's face broke out into a grin.

"We should show some of these to April!" Mikey suggested chipperly. "Look at all our little teenage faces! Raph was so angsty. And I was the most annoying thing on the planet! Hah, Don was so awkward. Leo hasn't changed much."

"Photographs are very valuable stores of memories," Splinter nodded. "I would not want to lose them."

"Man, I didn't realize how _old_ we're getting," Mikey sifted through some more photos.

"You are not very old Michelangelo," Splinter shook his head. "You have a long time ahead of you." Mikey paused at the comment and glanced over at Splinter. The atmosphere quickly dropped into something more somber and Mikey put all the photos back into the bin.

"And you sensei?" Mikey asked quietly. "You have a long time ahead of you too, right?"

Splinter stopped and his tattered ears twitched. He looked over at his youngest son with tired eyes that didn't have quite the same glitter they used to. The scars of too many battles lay hidden under his robes. A slight limp in his right leg, a tight chest and missing teeth from years of dental neglect were only a few of the marks of a hard life on him. A final battle with his lifelong enemy had finally broken him, and no longer could he keep up with his sons' antics.

"I am not sure," Splinter sighed softly. Mikey's face fell into an forlorn expression.

"Don says the cough isn't serious…" Mikey fiddled with his fingers. "He's reading up on some physical therapy stuff too."

"Mmm," Splinter hummed. "I am glad to have such caring sons." For a while the two of them continued to pack away photographs in heavy silence. Mikey's fingers glanced over photographs of a younger, healthier Splinter, with a mischievous glint in his eyes and and smile on his face in each photo. Splinter didn't smile very much these days, and that made Mikey's heart sink a little in his chest. The last of the photographs were put in the bin, and Mikey helped Splinter back to his feet.

"Thank you," Splinter rasped. "The dojo is cleaned out now. We should bring the bins to the van."

"...Splinter?" Mikey prodded hesitantly. "Things wouldn't be the same without you."

"Change is constant," Splinter stated. "I will not be around forever."

"I know, but it's just...you're a really great father, you know that?" Mikey gushed out. He was starting to feel a tug in his chest, a familiar feeling of sentimentality. "And I'm sorry that you've had to fight so many battles with us. You really deserve better."

"Michelangelo," Splinter's eyes softened. "I would not want anything else than what I have been blessed with ; four extraordinary sons. I could not be more proud of you."

"I love you dad," Mikey said, a warm smile lighting up his face. Mikey knew that he and his brothers had said that phrase too little, but now with the waning time left for Splinter, Mikey felt a strong need, a strong impulse to say it again and again - because life was far too short and if he didn't say it now he may never get another chance.

Mikey's breath caught up in his throat when he saw Splinter smile in return - not a forced, pained smile, a smile meant to cover up suffering. It was genuine, with crinkled eyes and a uplifted cheeks. It was the most relaxed and untroubled Mikey had seen him in _years._ The cold atmosphere of the empty dojo seemed to transcend into nothingness and was replaced with a rosy mood. Splinter said no more - only came forward to wrap his arms around his son. In that moment, and with that smile, Michelangelo couldn't have been any happier.

A few months later, Splinter would pass on peacefully, silently, on a crisp fall evening. He would lightly nod off in a rocking chair after months of a cough that grew worse and worse. His sons would find him a few hours later.

And when they did, they would find him smiling.


	3. Dark

**Rating: K+**

 ** **Word Count: 1,768****

 ** **Universe: 2k12 Cartoon****

 **I do not own TMNT.**

* * *

 _003\. Dark_

"It's time," Saki said gravely, his gloved hand holding open the door.

Karai stood up, her eyes briefly flickering with fear before it was wiped out, like a stain off her expression. She stole a glance at the tanto in her hand one last time before it was tucked away and out of sight. Saki gave her a nod and they both left the waiting room.

Lining the hall were silent men with hard red masks covering their faces. Their spears rested perfectly parallel to the ground. Karai turned her head to look at their faces - the masks were smooth, crimson red, and had two dark points where instead of eyes were dark abysses, empty and staring. On their foreheads were black stamps of the clan. The paint dripped down their masks like inky tears frozen in time.

"Look only forwards," Saki said firmly, taking Karai's chin in one hand and turning her face away. Karai's eyes - young and wide - darted back to the men lining the wall. The masked men did not move, not the slightest shift of a foot or twitch of a hand. It was the deep breath before the plunge, the calm in the eye of a storm.

At the end of the hall was a door, and Saki brought them to a halt before they could enter. The man turned to his daughter, the leathery skin on his face crinkling in some semblance of a smile.

"You have made me very proud, Karai," Saki said quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder. Karai's heart skipped a beat and she straightened her poise just a bit. Father had always avoided praising her directly to settle any rumor of favoritism - in fact, if anything Karai had been tested harder and given less recognition than those who she knew were lesser ninja than her. But today - today Saki was recognizing her achievements, and today she would earn respect among her clan.

"I will continue to make you proud Father," Karai said confidently. "I promise." Her blood was raging under her skin. Whatever foe lied behind that door, she would bring it crashing down and come out victorious. This was what she was raised for, trained for, _born for._

"You may not leave the room until someone comes to take you out. Leaving the room before the test is over means that you automatically fail. Am I clear?" Saki said sternly.

"Yes Father," Karai replied.

"Then you may begin," Saki pulled open the door and Karai stepped into the room.

It was empty.

Karai looked around in disbelief. It was small - almost suffocatingly so - with cold gray walls. A single, dim light hung from the ceiling.

And that was all.

"Father?" Karai turned around, but the door clicked shut and she was alone. Nervously, Karai moved so that she was underneath the light and draw her tanto.

"What is this?" she called out. The echo of the empty room was her only answer. Where was the enemy?

There was a showering of sparks that made Karai's heart jump into her throat. She had a split second to look up and see the light flicker - then it died. It was black, pitch black, and when she blinked she couldn't tell the difference between her eyes being open and closed.

"The lights went out!" Karai shouted. "I can't see!" A tightness rose in her throat, a desperate panic clawing its way out of her. She stumbled to the left and hit the wall. Using her hands, she felt along the wall until her fingers pressed against a door. She patted her hand against the wall until it ran into a knob. Her hand curled around it and she twisted it -

 _"Leaving the room before the test is over means that you automatically fail."_

Her hand stopped before she could push open the door. A creeping dread took hold of her and she suddenly understood. Her hand pulled away from the knob and she stepped back. This was the test. Karai took in a few ragged breaths before she carefully sat down, folding her legs criss-cross and dropping her tanto in front of her.

And there she sat. Everything was invisible and everything was silent. It was nothing, and yet it was overwhelming. But she could do this. She could sit in the nothing for as many hours as they wanted if it meant she would pass. For thirty minutes she kept herself calm and waited.

Then the ticks began. It started with a single echoing tick of a metronome, played far too loudly over some hidden speaker. Karai flinched at the noise - the silence had made her ears sensitive. Another tick came, and another, and soon it became a rhythm. The rhythm was not so bad at first, but then it began to drive itself into her skull and all she could think was _tick, tick, tick._

 _I can escape,_ she thought to herself. _If I just jump up and go out of the door._ The temptation was tantalizingly close, knowing that the door was just in front of her and it was unlocked. But that was the test - could she follow her orders through to the end? Could she conquer the mental adversary trying to chip away at her resolve?

Perhaps it was an hour, perhaps it was five, but eventually the metronome stopped. Then the flashing began. All at once the light turned back on, and it burned her eyes so badly that she cried out and covered them. It was over in a few seconds, before her eyes could properly adjust, and she was left back in the darkness. She waited in silent anticipation, counting the seconds to herself. And in a few agonizing minutes, the light flashed back on with a deafening buzz of electricity. This went on for a long time, and Karai nearly went mad each time waiting for the next burst of light. Karai wanted with all her soul to run out of the room, to escape this hell, but she couldn't. She had to pass. Finally, the flashes stopped.

There was the distinct clank of metal boots - a noise Karai had long ago learned to associate with the approach of her father, and then the door to the room opened. She shielded her eyes from the light. Her head throbbed and she wanted to scream from the way the tick, tick, tick still echoed in her head and the bright flashes still lingered at the edges of her vision. Karai stumbled to her feet, her pupils dilated and her heart bursting.

 _"The test is over," Saki rumbled. "You passed the first Dark Room."_

All at once, Karai awoke, sweat gathering on her brow as she jerked out of bed. The room was dark, and for a moment she couldn't breathe. She was back in that room, with that _tick, tick, tick_ and the flashing lights -

But no. It had been years since then, and now she was home with her _real_ father and although her new family was still warming up to her, no one would ever force her back to the Foot and their horrible rooms and tests. That test had not been the worst by far, but it stuck in her memory because it had been the first, and at her young age she hadn't realized what the dark rooms were. They were designed to make you immune to torture by subjecting you to it in supposedly harmless amounts. Karai dug the heels of her hands into her forehead - somewhere in the back of her head that metronome still clicked on.

"Karai?"

Karai blinked a few times and suddenly saw that there was a timid figure in the doorway to the room who was watching her with concerned blue eyes.

"Leo," Karai sighed, her shoulders drooping. Leo's hand brushed against the knob of the door and his eyes flickered between the busted lock and Karai.

"How did you get in the spare room?" Leo asked.

"Little bit of lock picking," Karai shrugged. "I figured you wouldn't mind."

"What are you doing here?" Leo said in confusion. "I thought you said you didn't want to stay with us."

"I'm heading back to the old Foot headquarters before dawn," Karai quickly defended. "I only came to stay the night." Leo's mouth twisted into a frown and he drifted into the room, softly closing the door behind him.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Nothing."

"Karai."

"Nothing!" Karai snapped back, drawing her arms around her torso and glaring at Leonardo. Leo let out a quiet sigh and moved to sit on the bed beside her. The mattress sunk under his weight and for a few moments, there was a quiet, contemplative silence.

"Why don't you stay here?" Leo finally murmured. "With your family?" Karai didn't reply, just stared downward at her knees. Leonardo, seeing that that question would get him nowhere, quickly tried his hand at something else.

"Karai...you must have had some reason for coming," Leo stated, turning his gaze towards her and giving her that look that she hated so much. His big blue eyes were innocent, honest, and she couldn't look into those eyes and reject them.

"There were too many memories in that old church," Karai said reluctantly. "I needed to get away from them. Not that it helped. They just followed me here."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Okay."

Leo brought his arm around her shoulder in a gesture of comfort, his thumb gently massaging circles on her arm. They stayed like that, for how long Karai couldn't tell. It was a gentle sort of comfort that Karai wasn't familiar with, but she soaked it up and let it drive off the lingering thoughts of dark rooms.

"I should go," Karai finally said, pulling away. Disappointment shone clear in Leo's eyes.

"Are you sure this is what you want to do Karai?" Leo asked once more, pleading.

"Don't worry Leo. We'll run into each other soon enough," Karai flashed him a small grin. "We always do." Karai slipped her armor back on over her black underclothes. Leo watched with a slightly wistful expression, and Karai turned to leave.

"Karai?"

Karai paused in the doorframe, caught in a moment of indecision, then turned to face Leo. Leo looked into her amber eyes and a somewhat sad smile graced his lips.

"Next time I'll leave the door unlocked for you," he said.

* * *

 **I'm not really happy with this, but it's been sitting in my files collecting dust and so I figured I'd post it anyways and just move on. I've already come down pretty hard on it with the editing pen, but I still feel like it's pretty rough. Oh well. Hope you liked it anyways.**


	4. Light

**Rating: K**

 **Word Count: 707**

 **Universe: 2k12 Cartoon**

 **Takes place after "Darkest Plight".**

 **I do not own TMNT.**

* * *

 _004\. Light_

"Leeeeeeo."

Leonardo withheld the sigh that so desperately wanted to escape his lips as the quiet whine came from behind him. He couldn't quite bring himself to turn around and considered for a moment ignoring the nagging voice. The thought however, was short lived.

"I'm busy Mikey," Leo replied in a clipped tone. He locked his eyes onto the tree in front of him and slowly stretched out his arm, his jaw tightening. Dark bruises were littered across his shoulders like black and blue constellations. His legs moved into a basic stance for katas, and slowly he began to move his arms in wide arcs and patterns. Each movement caused the bruised skin to stretch and ache. It wanted to stay stagnant and stiff, to be as still as possible to minimize any further damage. But Leonardo would not allow the bruises to hold him back. Would Shredder wait for him to heal before he made his next move? Would Tigerclaw back down from a fight because his opponent was not physically prepared?

"But you said you'd marathon Super Robo Mecha Force with me!" Mikey pouted, breaking Leo out of his thoughts. Leonardo could imagine the devastated look on his face, and it furthered fueled his resolve to not turn and look his brother in the eye.

"That was before," Leo said, his voice strained as he brought his arm over his head in a wide arc. "I'm _not_ really in the mood anymore."

"Well, can we do something else then?" Mikey pleaded.

"Like what?"

"Uh...baking?"

"No."

"Monopoly?"

"No."

"Silly spray war!"

 _"No."_

Mikey groaned as Leo made his way through the exercise with slow, fluid movements. "Don't you want to do _anything_?" Mikey complained.

"Yes," Leonardo said calmly. "I want to practice my katas." There were a few beats of silence, where Leonardo almost thought that perhaps Michelangelo had left and given up on pestering his older brother. But he should have known better - Michelangelo was, if nothing else, very perseverant.

"Doesn't that hurt?" Mikey asked. Leonardo turned around and finally faced his little brother, pinning him with a hard stare.

"I can't let my arms become stiff from disuse," Leonardo explained, gently brushing his fingers over the still tender bruises. "Maybe we can do something later Mikey." That was the not-so-subtle cue for Michelangelo to leave, but the younger turtle either didn't pick up on it or didn't care.

"We could play I spy," Mikey offered somewhat hopefully.

"I spy something annoying and green that is distracting me from my katas," Leo replied pointedly,

"Hey!" Mikey said with a pout, crossing his arms.

"Look Mikey, I'm not changing my mind. Go bother Donnie or Raph," Leo huffed in irritation.

"You always say that though Leo!" Mikey whined. "You never have time to do anything with me anymore." That made Leo pause for a moment and reflect. Now that he thought about it, he had been a little distant from the family as of late. The whole incident with Karai certainly hadn't helped matters. He had withdrawn to the dojo, perhaps hoping that he might train away his problems. Less and less often did he sit down with his family as their brother - more often he was huddling them around a battle plan as their leader. The realization made him uncomfortable. What if eventually that's all he became? Just their leader - no longer a brother. The thought scared him.

When his eyes landed back on Mikey - with his hopeful blue gaze and young freckled smile - a quick flash of guilt raced through Leo. He _had_ told Mikey he would watch the television show with him, even if it had just been an absent minded promise at the time. And he couldn't, _wouldn't_ , allow his brothers to drift farther away from him. He was more than their leader - he had responsibilities to uphold as their brother too, which were equally, if not _more_ , important.

Leonardo's shoulders relaxed and he fell out of his kata stance. "You're right," Leo admitted, "The kata's can wait. After all, I did give you my word."

Even if he had to sacrifice his extra training time, it was worth it to see Michelangelo's eyes light up.


	5. Heaven

**Rating: Borderline K+, edging into T**

 **Word Count: 1,220**

 **Universe: 2k12 Cartoon**

 **I do not own TMNT.**

 **Not my best, but hope you enjoy it anyways. Sorry for the long wait, semester finals were this week and so things have been pretty crazy this month. Now (hopefully) I'll get some more downtime to write.**

* * *

All he could see was fire.

Yoshi was trapped in a house that was falling apart, and no matter which way he turned to escape, flames blocked his path. He made for the window, but the glass shattered and fire roared up to take it's place. He ran for the door, but with a blast the entire thing ignited. Desperately he tried to topple the paper divider between this room and the next, but the fire spread like snakes and hungrily consumed it. No matter which way he ran, the fire corralled him back.

His eyes darted about wildly and his breaths came in heaving gasps from his chest. "Shen! Miwa!" he howled.

He gave the paper divider a strong kick, burning the bottom of his bare foot. The divider came down with a crash, but the flames only jumped higher between him and escape.

Yoshi reeled back from the searing heat. He let out a desperate cry for help, but he was trapped inside of the ring of flames, watching everything he owned turning to ash.

"You are brothers!" Shen suddenly cried out, and Yoshi whipped around to find the woman standing beside him as if she had been there all along.

His heart seized in a panic. "Shen!" he screamed - and he knew what was about to happen, he had been here before.

He knew and yet he could do nothing, because his wonderful, beautiful Tang Shen stepped in front of him with her arms held wide, brave and stubborn and naive as ever. Saki came through the flames like a demon, fire dancing on his gauntlets.

"Stop!" she commanded. But Hamato Saki did not stop.

Yoshi screamed when Saki's blades came down and hit their mark, tearing out flesh and carving two long, red gashes in Shen's chest. She died almost instantly.

Yoshi jerked backwards like a wounded animal. "No!" he screamed, the sound ripping through his throat. "Shen!" He dropped to the ground and grabbed her, forcefully pulling the limp body next to him.

The ceiling began to crash and fall around him, and he looked up to find Saki staring down at him with emotionless eyes.

"I loved her!" Yoshi choked out. "I loved _you!_ "

Saki did not have a chance to respond before a wooden beam came crashing down on him and crushed him beneath its weight as if he were merely a leaf crunched underfoot.

Yoshi recoiled in horror from the twisted body of his brother. "Saki!" he cried out, and Yoshi reached out to grab his brother's hand.

As soon as Yoshi's fingers brushed against the calloused skin of Saki's hand, Saki's head suddenly jerked up and his hand grabbed onto Yoshi's wrist with crushing strength. Yoshi let out a cry of distress and tried to pull away, but his wrist was held in a death grip.

"I am not your _brother,_ " Saki hissed, his voice like rocks grinding against each other. "I am _Oroku_ Saki. Now I see the truth."

"Saki, please!" Yoshi begged, trying to pry his hand away. "This is madness!"

"You have no wife, no daughter, no father, and no brother," Saki continued, his head twisted at an unnatural angle from underneath the wooden beam. "Now you are as alone as I. Now you know _hell_."

"No!" Yoshi screamed.

Splinter came awake with a start, taking in a sharp breath of air. He swiftly sat up, the blankets rustling around him, and glanced around. Cold stone walls rose around him, and moonlight filtered in through a grate high above. Only the occasional drop of water or skitter of rodent paws interrupted the silence.

Splinter sighed, the roar of flames receding from his thoughts and the burning light of fire fading away. Already the details of the dream were beginning to turn into smoke and wisp away, leaving only his terrorized thoughts and a vague knowledge of the nightmare. He could not however, forget what the nightmare had been about - the real event had been carved into his memory, and every time he woke up sweating and shaking he knew instantly what had been haunting him.

Splinter ran his hands down his face, taking in slow breaths. "Baku-san, come eat my dream. Baku-san, come eat my dream. Baku-san, come eat my dream," Splinter muttered quietly, bowing his head. He sighed and tilted his head back. For the past five months, Splinter had awoken and uttered the incantation at least once a week. It was meant to be used sparingly, for if Baku, Dream-Eater, was still hungry after eating the nightmare, he may devour your hopes and dreams as well.

However, Splinter figured that he did not have any hopes and dreams to lose.

Splinter glanced down when the blankets around him began to wriggle. Underneath lumpy folds of cloth, four little pairs of eyes gleamed, sleepy and confused.

"Sssh," Splinter said softly. "Go back to sleep turtles."

It appeared the the stoutest of the four was content to do just that, and he burrowed back underneath the blankets with a quiet growl of discontent. The littlest one scooted closer to Splinter, looking for warmth, while the one Splinter had presumed was the oldest simply stared at him with fascination. The gaunt looking one however, crawled out from underneath the blankets and onto Splinter's legs. Boldly he came forward and grabbed at the fur on Splinter's chest, then began to whine.

" _Kame-chan_ ," Splinter said sternly. "No. Go back to sleep."

Splinter pried the turtle off his legs and put him back down to the side. The turtle looked slightly disgruntled, but let out another whine and came crawling back.

" _No,_ " Splinter said forcefully. He put up his hand to form a blockade, and the turtle let out a cry of distress. The oldest one let out a guttural chirping noise and started to wiggle his way out to come and help his brother.

"Stop it. I said no!" Splinter snapped.

"No!" the scrawny turtle cried out.

Splinter froze.

"No," the turtle said again, with a little less certainty. Splinter let his hand fall down and stared as the lanky little turtle slinked back up onto his lap.

"They can talk," Splinter breathed out, and in that moment everything changed. His mind flashed back to the pet store, when he had reluctantly agreed to buy all four of the brothers - something had urged him to do so. And when he had been mutated, then ran to the sewers, that same unseen force had urged him to take the turtles with him, although he had assumed they were still very much animals.

Fate had stolen from him the four most important people in his life - wife, daughter, father and brother - but had offered him the gift of four sons.

"No," the lanky turtle seemed pleased with the new word, and after repeating it a few more times stuck his hands in his mouth.

"Come here, all of you," Splinter said, pulling the rest of the boys out of their cocoons to sit in his lap. They all stared up at him with curious eyes, eyes that he now saw held intelligence and sentience. Something in his heart lifted.

Perhaps in going through his own hell, he may have found a road to heaven through four little boys.


	6. Breathe

**Rating: K+**

 **Word Count: 3,658**

 **Universe: 2k12 Cartoon**

 **I do not own TMNT.**

 **I don't claim to know anything about how spacesuits or anything like that works, but I did a little research and tried my best. This probably takes place somewhere towards the beginning of the space arc. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Raph hadn't thought it could be so silent.

He was alone, surrounded by the distant glitter of stars. The smooth white surface of the ship was all he had to ground himself in this abyss, and he clung to it as he maneuvered around the hull of the spacecraft. He could hear his own heartbeat like a drum. Every sound he made was suddenly loud and disturbing. Even his own breathing sounded wrong.

It didn't matter how many times Honeycutt explained in fevered excitement the complexity of space and the innumerable species of alien flora and fauna. Raph felt utterly alone out here, with only his breath and his heartbeat for company. He missed the hum of life on Earth, where something was always moving. Raphael thought that he had known isolation. He had lived in it, been raised in it. But it was beyond him how anything could be so silent as it was out here in the nothingness of space.

"Hello hello, this is Professor Honeycutt. Do you read me Raphael?" the voice crackled through the microphone.

Raphael let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. The release of hot air fogged up his visor for a moment, and he paused for a brief moment to let it fade away and allow his racing heart to get itself a few beats slower.

"I read you Professor," Raphael replied into the microphone embedded in his helmet.

"Good good!" The Professor's voice was enthusiastic as it rang through the headphones. "Just remember to take deep breaths. I have a good feeling about today! I think you'll get through the course!"

"We'll see," Raphael snorted dubiously. The terrapin crawled along the top of the ship, occasionally using the thrusters in his boots to give him a little push ahead. When he had placed himself accordingly, he looked upwards. Above him was an "obstacle course" of sorts set up by Honeycutt to help them gain further control over their suits. A weaving maze of meteors had been locked in place, and hidden among them were various dangers such as freak gravity bubbles, a few fake laser blasters, and various scraps of sharp space junk. With a deep breath Raphael pushed himself off towards the maze.

His chest was tight and his fingers shaking, and so he tried focusing on moving forward instead of thinking about how with one wrong move his suit could malfunction and the invisible, suspended layer of protection over his skin would go out. Then his body would start to swell up and he'd freeze and black out, and unless someone towed him in within two minutes he'd die-

" _Deeeep_ breaths Raphael. You're starting to hyperventilate and your heart rate is increasing. Pause for a moment, close your eyes, and just breathe," Honeycutt's voice suddenly came back, attempting to soothe Raphael's nerves.

Raphael let out a small noise of confirmation, feeling sick to his stomach, and tapped on the thrusters with a shaky finger so as to keep himself moving. Desperately, he tried not to consider the fact that the only thing between him and suffocation was the tank and converter strapped to his back, and that with every breath he took he was using up some of the precious gas.

"Raphael, calm down," Honeycutt said calmly. "Has Donatello been telling you about how the suit works? It will keep you safe, certainly safer than any spacesuit from your planet. There are backups for the backups in that suit, rest assured."

Raph navigated his way around a particularly large meteor, but was suddenly tugged towards it in a random spot of contained gravity.

For a brief moment he couldn't even breathe out of fear. Then he let out a cry of surprise and hit the meteor with a thud.

"Raphael, are you alright?" Honeycutt asked somewhat quickly.

"I hate space," Raphael whined in a breathy voice. "I _really_ hate space."

"Would you like me to end the course Raphael?" Honeycutt asked in concern.

The question sparked a small amount of frustration in Raphael, and he clenched his fists. "How far am I?" he demanded.

"Approximately 60 feet inside the course."

"How far was I yesterday?"

"...70."

"Then I'm not stopping yet."

"Are you certain Raphael? Your vitals signal that you are in distress," Honeycutt replied anxiously. "It is very important to know your limits in space."

"I can make it ten more feet!" Raphael snapped, forcing his shaking limbs to move. "If I did it yesterday, I can do it today!"

Raphael pushed off the meteor and escaped the bubble, continuing on and weaving between the large meteors with somewhat clumsy movements. He was just reaching for another one to use as a springboard when suddenly it _moved._

Raphael's heart seized and he let out a noise of panic. Where his hands were supposed to meet a rock hard surface, they grasped uselessly at nothing. He tried to use his propulsion boots to realign himself, but in his frenzy his controls were clumsy, and instead of turning he just began to spiral backwards. Raphael swore loudly as he drifted further away, his mind racing for a solution and only further heightening the panic.

"Raphael, I'm taking you in," Honeycutt said firmly from the other end. "You are in no state to continue."

Raphael swore again. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he tried to use his propulsion boots to navigate himself. His feet were not quite at the right angle however, and the burst of energy sent him spinning back and hitting a meteor with a loud crack.

His throat constricted as panic gripped him. He fumbled around and tried once again to align himself with the propulsion, but it only sent him spinning even faster.

"Raphael, do not attempt to navigate back!" Honeycutt snapped in his ear. "I will bring you back in!"

Raph didn't have the will to reply. Instead he just watched the stars flash around. He started to feel dizzy - was he accidentally not breathing again?

There was just the spinning black-

Just the endlessness-

Trillions of miles between him and Earth-

He was going to die -

He was going to die and he couldn't move, he couldn't even _move_ -

His chest burned, his ears screamed, his blood was like ice. Vaguely he recognized that he was being pulled back towards the ship, but that didn't matter because he _was going to die._ Out here, in the cold nothingness he would die and nothing could save him because the world didn't _care_ about Hamato Raphael. He was going to die. He was really going to die.

There was a hiss, and then he saw a pair of huge metal doors closing in front of him. The whir and buzz of machines continued around him and he slowly descended to the ground as the gravity returned to the state he was used to. He was back inside the ship, in the return room. A little green light blinked and a high pitched ding sounded off.

Everything was blurry and bright, and it made Raphael feel nauseous. He yanked the helmet off his head in desperation and took in an uneven, desperate breath of air. He nearly choked as his body greedily took in as much of the oxygen as it could.

He couldn't see, he couldn't hear, he was helpless. There was a high pitched ringing in his ears and his vision was shrouded in black. He could hardly tell up from down.

There was that seasick feeling creeping up again, and Raphael forced himself to swallow down a mouthful of bile. He began to wave his hand in front of him to make sure there was nothing coming in front of him, approaching him without his knowledge.

A soothing, familiar hand came to rest on his shoulder and immediately the fear eased. "Calm down. You're back in the ship, it's alright," A feminine voice assured. The voice sounded muffled and distant, as if he were hearing it from underwater. Raphael blinked a few times as his eyes adjusted to the bright lights in the room. White spots hung at the edge of his vision.

Raphael let out a small breath of relief as he tried to calm his rapid heartbeat. He took in a wheezing breath through his mouth and made a pathetic attempt to stumble to his feet.

"Slowly!" the nagging voice of the Professor broke in. "Don't let him stand up too fast." His hearing was slowly coming back to him, and the Professor's voice didn't sound as distant as the first. A pair of delicate, five-fingered hands hooked under his arms, gently easing him up to his feet. Around him were a few familiar faces. In front of him April was still helping him get on his feet. Behind her Honeycutt and Donatello were hovering, both with nervous expressions.

Raphael allowed a wave of reassurance to wash over him as he had finally got upright. He closed his eyes and let out a long breath, trying to force his pounding chest to settle.

Honeycutt scooted forwards, effectively pushing April out of the way, and placed one cold metal hand on Raphael's chest, looking down at a screen on his other arm as he did so.

"Any chest pain and pressure?" Honeycutt inquired. Raphael frowned and shook his head.

"Did you hit your head at all?" Honeycutt asked, seeming to be satisfied with whatever the readings his hand-sensor had taken. He drew back the hand on Raphael's chest and turned his eyes away from the screen.

"I'm fine," Raphael grumbled, taking a few steps backwards and then sliding down the wall to sit.

"I'm just making sure," Honeycutt reprimanded. "If we start to assume things then one time something serious might happen and we'll brush it off because we think you just panicked again."

"Yeah, I know," Raphael sighed in defeat, putting his head in his hands and leaning his elbows against his knees.

Disappointment crept at the edges of his thoughts. Once again, he had allowed his fear to get the better of him, and no matter what way he tried to justify it, in the end be was simply letting his weakness exploit him.

"Hey," April put her hand on his knee. "It's fine. Next time you'll do better." Raphael spread apart his fingers to glance at the red-head through his hands. She had an encouraging smile and a bright look in her eyes.

Raphael's thoughts turned bitter, and he already knew she'd be saying the same thing tomorrow.

"Do you want me to show you some more about how the suit works?" Donatello asked, anxious to help. "It's really cool stuff-"

" _No,_ " Raphael said forcefully, looking up at Donatello. "That doesn't help." Donatello's mouth snapped shut and his shoulders drooped a little in disappointment.

"You can use the training room if you'd like," Honeycutt interrupted brightly. "I've got several space settings programmed in it that you can go into with a mock suit."

"What, so I can have a panic attack in there too?" Raphael spat a little scathingly. He knew the Professor was only trying to help, but the fact that he needed it was quite effectively pissing him off.

"So you can _practice,_ " Honeycutt said sternly. "In a controlled environment. Just give it a shot alright? I really think it'll help."

"Yeah. Fine. Sure. Whatever," Raphael replied in a clipped tone as he slowly got back on his feet. "I'm gonna hit the shower." He walked out of the room, still a little clumsy on his feet. Honeycutt let out a sigh before he spoke.

"He's not going to do it, is he? Oh dear."

. . . . .

One long shower later, Raphael finally emerged from the bathroom, a towel draped over his shoulder. The red-banded turtle walked down the sterile hallway for a ways, then opened up a metal hatch and chucked his towel down the tube.

"Hey!"

Raphael jumped when April approached him from behind and took him off guard. He had become a little lost inside his thoughts and she caught him unaware. Quickly he tried to smooth over his initial surprise.

"Oh, hey," Raphael replied impassively, leaning against the wall and turning to face her. "What's up? Did Mikey jam the food materializing thingy again?"

"Uh, no," April shook her head. "I actually came to talk about that training thing Honeycutt mentioned." Raphael immediately stiffened. His heart rate skipped up its pace at the thought of even going back into a fake space environment.

"No way," Raphael immediately shot her down. "I'm not doing it. End of story."

"Why not?" she snorted incredulously. "It's not even real."

"Look, one freak-out episode a day is enough for me," Raph snapped. "I don't expect you to understand, the way you fly around out there like it's second nature." April narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips. There was a momentary beat of silence.

"What if I did it with you?" April suggested.

"Woah-ho-ho, hold up," Raphael held up his hands, his expression skeptical. "How is that supposed to help? So I can see how much I suck in comparison? No thanks."

"Just hear me out!" April pleaded. "I know this entire thing is totally crazy. I know that it's ridiculous we're flying around space with two days of training while astronauts on Earth spend years training before they even break the atmosphere. But I _believe_ in you Raph. I'm not lying when I say you'll do better tomorrow. I know you can do this." Raphael paused, his eyes conflicted, and April leaned forwards in anticipation.

"Tomorrow morning, six," Raphael said conspiratorially. April's eyes lit up and her lips curled into a vivacious smile.

Raphael's stomach curled a little, and for a split second he considered taking it back. He opened his mouth as if to protest, clamped it back shut, then sighed.

"Honeycutt and Donnie don't need to know," Raphael said in a low tone. "I don't need them trying to help, because they always make things worse. Okay?"

"Fine by me," April said with a sly grin.

Raphael's chest tightened. He was _so_ going to regret this.

. . . . .

Seven days later, Raphael was surprisingly still showing up every morning to him and April's little "practice" sessions. He had thought it would be terrible, that April would be flying in circles around him and asking why he was having so much trouble. He had imagined frustration and disappointment for both parties.

What he hadn't expected was for April to be a teacher on par with Master Splinter. Where Honeycutt and Donatello had both failed, April soared. Honeycutt was at the disadvantage of having grown up and lived in a much more advanced world. When he taught, certain things were overlooked because to him it seemed like common sense. Donatello was a genius - but he simply was not a teacher. He knew how to do things, he just couldn't seem to quite explain it in a simple, straightforward way.

April though, she came from the same ignorant world as him, and she was patient and direct. She could calm him down, she knew when to stop the simulation and when to push him further. Her tutoring job back in school clearly had done her good. It turned out that operating the suits was not so hard - what the real hurdle was was overcoming that gripping sense of panic at being out there in so much _nothing._

Today however, was the final test.

Raphael shook out his hands and released a quick breath of air, while Honeycutt bumbled around them, hooking up the safety tubing and fiddling with their suits. April was giving herself a last look over. Seeming to be satisfied, Honeycutt took a step back and turned to face them, crossing his arms behind his back.

"Are we ready?" Honeycutt asked, glancing between the two of them.

"Bring it!" April shouted enthusiastically, putting one fist against the open palm of her hand.

"Let's just get this over with," Raphael grumbled.

"Inspiring words, Raphael," Honeycutt chirped.

Raphael and April shared a puzzled glance. Neither of them were quite sure if Honeycutt had been serious or not.

"...sorry, what?" April finally ventured.

"Inspiring words," Honeycutt repeated. "That's meant to be sarcastic. This is my sarcastic voice. Can you not tell?"

"No, no not really," April admitted somewhat sheepishly. "It sort of sounds the same as your excited voice. And your happy voice. Actually, everything you say sort of sounds the same Professor." Raphael snorted in slight amusement and Honeycutt sighed.

"As Raphael said, let's just get this over with," Honeycutt said, and this time Raphael could catch a hint of annoyance in his tone - one of the few emotions Honeycutt was able to convey _very_ well (perhaps because he had so much experience with the feeling).

"Aye aye captain!" April said, and gave Honeycutt a sharp salute and a winning grin. There was the whir of machines, and slowly the room's environment became the same as the vacuum of space. Raphael's feet drifted off the floor as the gravity shifted.

He felt a tight clenching in his chest. Immediately he beat it down and relaxed his muscles. He didn't need to be afraid - it was going to be just like the training simulation.

"Good luck!" Honeycutt called out to them, and then the bay doors opened to reveal the stars. April smiled, giving Honeycutt a wave, then grabbed Raphael's hand.

Raphael jumped a little at the motion, and turned to look at April, whose eyes were staring into his own intensely. "Ready?" she asked, giving his hand a tight squeeze.

"Yeah," Raph nodded, tightening his grip on her hand. "Let's do this."

April fired up her propulsion boots and guided them out of the spaceship, towards the asteroid field Honeycutt had prepared. Everything was eerily still as they entered, and all Raphael could hear was the quiet crackle of his comm and his own blood rushing through his ears.

"I'm letting go of your hand now," April said calmly as she released her grip.

Raphael's breath caught in his throat for a second when he got that feeling of having nothing to ground him, no way to tell up from down anymore. It was a disorienting experience, but he kept the panic at bay.

He followed April deeper into the asteroids, cautiously upping the speed on his propulsion. April turned around and gave him a thumbs up.

He was actually feeling sort of _confident._

"This isn't so bad-" Raphael laughed breathlessly.

It all happened in a moment - he felt the force of something colliding with his helmet, and he was careening backwards in an out of control spiral. Everything was spinning. His heart was fighting to free itself from his chest. His mind was in a screaming blind panic. There was a hissing noise and his head began to spin like the stars around him.

"Raph!" April's voice screamed through his earpiece.

Raph drew in a ragged gasp. _Focus, focus, focus-_ he demanded himself. Then his back hit something large and hard. He let out a sharp cry, but it sounded muffled and mute. The stars stopped spinning, but his head continued to dance in circles.

"April - the helmet - it cracked -" Raphael wheezed out.

"Raph! Raph, hang in there!" April shouted, and Raphael could see her in front of him now. She grabbed his arm with one hand and her eyes darted across his helmet. "I don't see a crack Raph-"

"No, it's there, I can't breathe, I can't breathe-" Raphael pleaded. He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. April ran her hand along the helmet.

His suit was squeezing, him, choking him, and his breath barely managed to force it's way in and out of his throat. His breaths were shallow and his heart was beating so fast he feared he might pop like a balloon from the sheer amount of blood being pumped at such high speed.

"Honeycutt?" April asked.

"I don't know what happened, the asteroid shouldn't have moved…" Honeycutt paused for a moment. "But there is no puncture in the suit. It's operating normally."

"No, _I can't breathe!_ " Raphael screamed. His hands were shaking and he reached up to his helmet. "I need to get it off-"

"No, Raph!" April grabbed both his arms and held them tightly. "Raphael, listen to me." Raphael choked back a strangled sob and fought against her grip. April leaned closer. "Raphael, there is no crack in the helmet. You can't breathe because you think you can't. _It's all in your head._ "

"But the asteroid-" Raphael began.

"No. It didn't hit you hard enough to crack the helmet," April said forcefully. "You are not thinking clearly. Calm down. Now breathe."

April took in a long breath and Raphael followed in a shuddering, uncertain intake. They both released the breath and instantly Raphael's heart slowed down. The air flowed easily into his lungs and he took in another, more certain breath. His head slowed down and the dizzy feeling went away, replaced by a wave of calm.

He was fine.

The realization made him sigh in relief. April reflected his look of relief and released his arms. Raphael could still feel where her tiny hands had clenched on his arms so fiercely, and he rubbed at the spots unconsciously.

"Better?" April asked with a weak smile.

"Yeah," Raphael said, and nodded. "Thank you."

"Anytime," April said warmly, placing a hand on his shoulder. The two of them drifted for a moment in silence. "I told you you could do this. How about we finish this maze and then we'll have some pizza?" April asked, cocking her head.

"That sounds good," Raphael agreed.

Then he breathed in - and out - and space wasn't so bad anymore.


	7. Insanity

**Rating: K**

 **Word Count: 1,171**

 **Universe: Ambiguous**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT.**

 **So for this one I tried various more serious stories, about either Splinter or Leatherhead or Karai, but I actually found the most success when I made a bit of a joke out of it. Hope you enjoy. :)**

* * *

 _007\. Insanity_

Raphael blinked open his eyes. Still in that strange moment between sleep and reality, for a moment he hardly registered what he was feeling.

Oh, if only he had treasured that moment of pure bliss.

The first thing that hit him was how sore he was. Raphael groaned and tried to shift his arms, but the stabbing feeling in his muscles didn't allow him to move very far. It was like that tense feeling after getting a shot, only it covered his entire body.

"Dang…" he muttered, squeezing his eyes shut. "What hit me, a bus?"

"Actually that was Leo," Donnie's all-too-eager voice piped in.

"Stop being overdramatic Raph," Leo huffed. "I didn't hit you that hard."

Raphael snorted and opened his eyes partway, squinting against the bright light. Oh hooray, it was his favorite place to wake up in - the med bay. He could hear the squeak of the rolling chair somewhere to his right, and could only assume Mikey was riding it around the room. Donnie and Leo hovered at the foot of the bed, Leonardo holding a rare expression of sheepishness.

"Let me guess," Donnie cleared his throat and changed into a deep, scruffy voice. "What happened Donnie? How did I end up here?" Out of Raph's line of vision, Mikey laughed like a hyena at the impression.

"That doesn't sound anything like me," Raphael scoffed, rolling his eyes. "But yeah. What happened?"

"Some guy tried to make you go all psycho on us with his evil mind control serum," Mikey explained, rolling over on his chair.

"Again?" Raph sighed, slamming his head back on the pillow. "Why do they always target me?"

"Probably because you're already halfway there," Mikey taunted. Raphael sat up, grabbing the pillow from underneath him and whacking Michelangelo over the head with it. Mikey let out a shriek and rolled away on his chair, a huge grin plastered on his face.

"So did I hurt anyone?" Raphael asked, his eyes scanning over his brothers.

"Are you joking?" Mikey burst into hysterical laughter. "You were outnumbered three-to-one and running around like a chihuahua on steroids! It was hilarious. I should've videotaped it. And then Leo totally punched you right into a wall! You were just like SMACK! on the wall and then BOOM! down on the ground!"

"So that's why I feel like crap," Raphael clipped, giving Leo a murderous glare.

"I think he's more dangerous when he's himself," Leo commented. "Maybe we should let bad guys control his mind more often, for our own safety."

"Hilarious," Raph deadpanned.

"In all seriousness, you should be fine," Donatello soothed. "It was easy to reverse the effects, the serum was very primitive."

"But it was an epic fight!" Mikey butted back in, wheeling over. "Leo did the whole "I know you're in there somewhere!" speech, but halfway through he started cracking up because you tripped and fell over and were spinning around on your shell. Ha, you were waving your arms and legs all over the place because you weren't smart enough to roll over. After a while D gave you some knockout gas."

"Then the guy was like 'Nooo! My evil plan is thwarted! He was supposed to kill you all!'" Mikey narrated melodramatically. "And we were like, 'Dude, if you wanted him to kill us, you should have drugged him up with something that didn't give him the brain of a goldfish'."

"Although the brain of a goldfish isn't too much of a step down for you," Donnie added in with a fiendish smile tugging at his lips. Raphael turned his glare to Donatello.

"Say Donnie, it'd be unfortunate if something were to happen to your bo staff," Raphael grinned. Donnie immediately took a step backwards and protectively held onto his weapon with one hand.

"Oh no. This one is a naginata, and you are not laying your hands on it," Donnie growled.

"You keep telling yourself that Don."

"I'll sic Master Splinter on you."

"Ha. Tattling? Isn't that a little beneath you?"

"To save my naginata, no."

"Calm down guys, nobody is breaking anybody else's weapons," Leo intervened, giving them both hard looks. "It's been a long night, and we're all going to bed now that Raph is okay."

"Aww, boo!" Mikey pouted. "I'm not voting for you as team leader next election."

Leo rolled his eyes and Donnie and Raph exchanged amused looks. Raphael pushed himself up off the sickbed - with a great deal of sharp pains - and was helped to his feet by Leonardo. His legs felt a little wobbly, but he would be able to get around okay if he didn't attempt to run or do flips. The four brothers headed out of the lab, and Raphael lingered towards the back. There was something still bothering him.

"Hey guys…" he hesitated, and immediately they turned to look at him. He shuffled a bit awkwardly under their stares. "You don't think...y'know...I'd ever actually…try to hurt you. Right?" For a moment they all looked befuddled with the situation.

"Well duh!" Mikey laughed. "We're bros dude!"

"Of course we don't," Leo added in, blinking in confusion.

"Why do you ask?" Donatello replied tactfully. Raphael wrung his hands and didn't meet any of their gazes.

"I dunno. I'm bad at pulling my punches, I lose my temper a lot," Raphael snapped, riling himself up as he thought about it. "And all this mind control stuff keeps happening and it makes me wonder what would happen if I got even angrier."

For a moment his brothers stared. "No way!" Mikey burst out. "Raphael is worried about us!" In a split second Mikey was at his brothers side and clinging to him. "Awww!" Mikey cooed, pretending to have tears in his eyes.

"Get off you little parasite," Raphael grunted, trying to pry Mikey's arms away. "I'm just...concerned."

"Look, Raph, we know you throw a lot of tantrums, ones that sometimes involving a little rough housing," Donnie consoled. "But none of us thinks you'd ever actually seriously injure us."

"I'd trust you with my life in a heartbeat," Leo nodded solemnly.

"Yeah, ok, that last comment was a little overboard," Raph snorted. "Tone it down there Leo, we can't have too many cliche, over dramatic one liners." That got Donnie and Mikey to laugh, and make Leo's face turn a little red. Raphael felt his shoulders relax. Of course he wasn't some sort of rampaging Hulk. He had discipline and self control - and if his brothers believed in him, then he could too. He flashed a rare, genuine smile.

"So Raph, should we start calling you Turtle Top?" Mikey grinned. "Cause you should have seen it when you spun around on your shell during that fight!" Raphael punched his arm lightly.

"Oh, shut up."


	8. Misfortune

**Rating: K**

 **Word Count: 911**

 **Universe: 2k12 Cartoon**

 **I do not own TMNT.**

* * *

 _008\. Misfortune_

April figured there were two kinds of people in her business; casual passerbys who came for the sheer novelty of it, and desperate crackheads who were constantly haunted by their imagination. She didn't get a whole lot of respect in her line of work. Most people thought she was as high as her customers. Which actually, she couldn't blame them for.

She was however, a bit unorthodox in her methods.

The cards, the dice, boards that told the future, she omitted it all from her business. Instead she told it to them straight. "I'm psychic and I can read your mind if you let me hold your hands," is what she told all her customers. Most of them only laughed easily at her proclamation. "Of course you are," they said, not unkindly.

She wheeled her gypsy cart into Central Park whenever she had a chance, flashed her vendors permit for the park police and set up shop, hoping for something to scrape her by for the rest of the week. Most of the time people's thoughts were boring - a new colleague, a visit from a friend, a fun date. She'd offer them advice, and they'd leave, charmed and a bit puzzled.

Today would be different.

April felt his presence before he came into the cart. The last light of dusk leaked in when the door swung open. A shadow slipped inside, hurriedly closing the door behind him. April reached out to his mind, subtly poking at it for a hint of his thoughts.

"Don't," he snapped, his hands twitching.

April sighed and leaned back in her chair. The bulky figure brushed himself off before sitting in the chair opposite her. His eyes glared at her in accusation.

"So this is the definition of a 'steady job'," he stated in a voice that was too calm.

"Steadier than yours," April replied with a little too much bite.

"You know it's because we can't have that. You can," the shadow reprimanded. April's mouth twitched and tightened in the corners.

"That's presumptuous," April insisted.

"You have a college degree, and it's even paid off," he pointed out. "It shouldn't be this hard for you to find a job."

"College was different! I could miss a class here and there and it was fine!" April fumed. "But if I suddenly need to leave work because there's a threat to the city or you guys are in danger, what am I supposed to tell my boss? 'Well sorry sir, but I have these friends I have to go save from the invading aliens. Can I leave work early today?'"

"All I'm asking is for you to try," the other figure reprimanded. " _This-_ " he gestured around him at the gypsy cart. "-this is not trying."

"I have tried Leo! I tried and I got _fired_ from four different jobs!" April said, and she took off her headscarf in frustration. Leo sighed and his eyes trailed around the cart, taking in the little trinkets displayed all throughout the room. There was a recurring theme hidden in the display - the image of a turtle was scattered about, almost subconsciously.

"April, I obviously can't know what it's like here on the surface-" Leo began. April didn't give him the chance to finish.

"That's the problem Leo! You expect me to juggle two separate lives but you only have to deal with one! You can't understand and so you can't criticize me!" April declared, her eyes alight with indignance.

"Fine, so your life is hard. So you've had misfortune. So has everyone else," Leo replied in a clipped tone. "Do something about it then and stop whining like a teenager."

"What do you suggest I do?" April shot back. She wasn't expecting an answer. It was meant to be a comeback, a retort. Something to annoy him. Leo stood up and faced her off, his mind closed off from her and his expression calm.

"Don't try to juggle two lives. Maybe it's time you started focusing on yourself and what _you_ want," Leo told her. "April O'Neil the scientist can change the world just as much as April O'Neil the ninja. You don't have to fight with us."

April blinked in surprise. The thought had never even so much as crossed her mind. To stop fighting was to give in, right? She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.

"Think about it," Leo suggested. Then he slipped out of the the cart, letting in a waft of fresh air and a brief flash of sunlight leak in as he departed. April leaned back in her chair, turning over his words in her head.

After the sun had set, April roamed back home, parking her car and cart and going to her apartment. One cappuccino later, she sat down at her desk and flipped open her laptop. She reopened a tab she had closed earlier that day.

" _Lab assistant wanted_ ," it read on the site. " _Opportunities to advance._ "

April stared at it for a long moment, then looked at the prized tessen she had displayed on her wall. Her first weapon, a symbol of her induction into the clan and her promise to fight against those who would corrupt and hurt.

" _Apply_?" the screen prompted. She saw the promise reflecting back at her.

" _Yes_ ," she clicked.


	9. Holiday

**Rating: K**

 **Word Count: 372**

 **Universe: Ambiguous**

 **I do not own TMNT.**

* * *

 _009\. Holiday_

Screaming erupts from the streets below. Confetti is flying in all directions and fireworks explode in the chaos. Leo watches from the rooftops of Times Square. The fireworks light up his face in the lowlight and cast shadows on the thoughtful expression he holds. There are people kissing and crying and opening up bottles of liquor like they have one night left to live.

 _Another year,_ Leo thinks to himself. In some way he understands the revelry they're indulging in. Almost as if they're saying "screw you life, I made it another year!", rubbing it in the face of fate that they made it and that they're going to keep going. Leo has made it another year, but he is not celebrating like the people below.

Leo imagines that his brothers are with him. Raph would be offering him a beer right now - Leo would decline, as always. He can imagine Raphael's voice, gruff and teasing. _"Take that stick out of your butt. It's one beer on one night of the year. Live a little."_

Donnie would be busy at his phone, chattering about last years statistics and what people are predicting the next year will hold. He'd list off every movie and game release for the next year and comment his own prediction of how well they would do until somebody shut him up. _"My Dirty Wife? Sounds terrible. Is that a joke? No, it's releasing in March."_

Mikey would be coming up with all kinds of New Year's Resolutions and writing them down in a notebook. He'd swear up and down that he was going to stick to every last one of them. They all knew they'd find the notebook wedged between the couch cushions two months later, completely forgotten. _"I'm going to beat all 99 levels of "Mercenaries II", and I'm going to travel to California, and then I'm going to buy a helicopter and I'm not letting any of you guys fly it! Actually, I should probably buy the helicopter first, so I can fly to Cali in it."_

Leo leans into the wind, and although the sounds of cheering and music are grating against his ears even at this distance, it feels quiet.


	10. Silence

**Rating: K-Plus**

 **Word Count: 903**

 **Universe: Ambiguous**

 **I do not own TMNT.**

* * *

 _010\. Silence_

The lone figure carefully shuffled his way through the dark tunnel, the bottoms of his khaki pants brushing against cold cement. He paused for a moment, tilting his head and remaining still as a statue. The sound of a small trickle of water hitting the ground quickly caught his attention, and he continued towards the sound like it was a beacon. His attuned sense of hearing made it so it didn't take long to find the source - a pipe running along the ceiling was leaking profusely.

With a long, raspy sigh, he made his way over to a large gate valve on the tunnel wall. Leaning all his weight against it, he managed to turn the wheel until the constant rush of water going through the pipes was stopped, leaving the tunnel even more silent than before. He dropped his bag to the ground with a loud clatter, then dug around until he had pulled out a small tube of piping. Fingering a wrench on his belt lightly, he made his way back over to the leaking pipe and looked up at it.

"Had to be on the ceiling, didn't it?" he lamented. He took a moment to adjust his dusty brown suspenders and make sure the tools and the pipe were tucked securely in his belt. Then he rolled his shoulders, flexed his toes, and crouched down. His eyes locked on the thickest pipe above him and his calves tensed before he swung his arms up in time with his spring. His hands caught onto the pipe and in one swift motion, he used his momentum to swing himself up onto the pipe. As soon as he was secure, he let out a hiss and clutched his knee.

"Shhhhh-" he bit his tongue to prevent the unwelcome word from slipping out. The muscles in his leg throbbed uncomfortably. He'd need to take more painkillers tomorrow; clearly the two pills he was taking now weren't enough. He could imagine what his dad would say right about now.

" _You can stop the pain mentally. Ninja feel no pain,_ " he said in a mockingly deep tone. "Yeah, try telling that to me when you've got old wounds on top of arthritis."

He slowly scooted himself forward on the pipe until he was within reach of the leaky pipe, which was only a few centimeters higher than the one he sat on. He set to work with his wrench, working slowly but with pinpoint precision. He efficiently cut out the leak and replaced it with a new piece of piping. He had a small welding torch that he used to seal off the pipe, and that finished the deal. Storing away his tools, he slid off the pipe, hanging off it for a moment before he dropped to the ground lightly.

"Owwww," he whined, favoring his right leg as he limped over to the gate valve. "I'm not even that old yet." With a tired sigh, he turned the water back on and it rushed back into the pipes, the leak effectively stopped. He stepped back and admired his work, picking up the floodlight again to shine on his patchwork job. Even if he wasn't building blimps or discovering new elements anymore, he was helping people - true, fixing pipes in the sewers sort of paled in comparison to saving the world, but at least he had something left to offer his city.

He glanced at his watch; it was getting late. The turtle grabbed the bag of piping off the cold floor, then turned and limped back through the twisting walkways, squeezing through tight spots until he had reached the old subway station. Long ago he might have leapt over the turnstiles with practised ease, but now he just pushed through them with a loud click. Things were as he had left them.

His nightly routine was executed in mundane apathy. He reheated the leftover chicken and fries and ate his dinner while watching television from the ratted old couch.

 _"Chemistry for one thousand!"_

"Thank you Kathy!" Donatello said from his spot on the couch. "Finally someone chooses chemistry."

 _"Alright. Chemistry books warn you not to add this common substance to sulfuric acid; it may cause an explosion."_

"Water," Donnie spat out before the announcer had even finished. "And it doesn't explode. It boils and spits a little and can burn you but it isn't a **bomb**."

 _"What is...salt?"_

"No Kathy!" Donnie groaned. "Now you're making hydrogen chloride gas!"

After Jeopardy had ended, Donnie took another couple of painkillers, brushed his teeth and stripped off his gear and clothes. He shambled his way to his bed. Like most nights, his tabletop fan was rattling on his nightstand, a quiet playlist was looping over the speakers, and in the corner the television was casting flickered light across the room. Sighing happily, he curled up into bed, and the pillow invited him to doze off.

He was almost asleep when everything suddenly went silent.

The lights all powered down with a sudden click and the fan and stereo faded out. Donatello's eyes snapped open and he sat up in a quick movement, eyes darting around the room. Taking in a rattly breath, he bunched up the sheets under his hands. The silence was everywhere, it grabbed him by the throat and strangled him.

And he came to the awful realization that he was utterly alone.

* * *

 **This was inspired by a piece of fanart I found a long time ago of an old Donatello. The artist said they had imagined that Donatello would be the last turtle left and he'd go around fixing pipelines in the sewers in his old(er) age. Unfortunately I can't seem to find it again, or else I'd direct you to it because it was quite good.**

 **Anyways, I know it's been a long time since I updated and I'm not sure when (or if) I'll finish this whole challenge. There may come a point when I will just cut it off and be done with it. I'll let you know if I ever do get to that point, but hopefully you will enjoy whatever I have left to spit out, whether that's two chapters or fifty. Thanks to you patient, patient followers who still come back to read this thing when I update. Ciao for now!**


	11. Turtles

**Rating: K+**

 **Word Count: 1,128**

 **Universe: 2k12 Cartoon. Takes place after Slash and Destroy.**

 **Sort of rambly and pointless, but I hope you enjoy it anyways. I do not own TMNT.**

* * *

 _011\. Turtles_

Staring through the tinted glass of the shop display, Raphael stood and watched in silence as the turtles wandered around their terrarium. The display, he supposed, allowed them to bask during the day, when the sunlight came in through the window. It was a nice thought, but the terrarium seemed all too small for the bunch of them. They hustled around each other, pacing circles in the crowded box. Raph never liked seeing animals in cages.

That's why he had never kept Spike in a container. He had come to the strange conclusion that he could strike a deal with his pet, somewhat ridiculous in hindsight.

" _Don't make a mess, and don't get into trouble,"_ Raphael remembered having told Spike. He had taken the pet turtle into his room for the first time and placed him carefully on the bed. " _Do that and I'll let you go wherever you want."_

Spike had blinked slowly at Raphael, and Raphael had figured that such a slow little creature couldn't get into much trouble anyways. Maybe if he had been a little smarter about it, kept him penned in somehow when they weren't around, the accident with the mutagen wouldn't have happened.

Some strange sort of self-pitying masochism made him linger here at the shop window. His mind was swimming with old memories and the longer he stared at those waddling turtles, pacing circles in their box, the more those memories hurt.

He was so absorbed in reliving the past that he hardly noticed when Leo came up to stand beside him. "Raph," Leo said, snapping Raphael out of his thoughts. "We can't sit out here too long. Come'on."

"What?" Raphael asked dumbly, blinking in confusion for a moment. "Oh yeah, right." Leonardo's eyes narrowed and he appraised his brother with a hint of suspicion.

"Something distracting you?" Leonardo probed.

For a moment Raphael was tempted to lash out at Leo, to snap back with some snarky reply. It would certainly deter his brother and instigate a fight, which for the time being would take his mind off of things. But he hesitated, and he couldn't seem to quite find the heart for it.

"I'm fine," Raph said with a shake of his head. "Let's keep going."

"Alright, now I _know_ something's wrong," Leonardo snorted. "Since when are you reasonable?"

"Since when do you care?" Raphael bit back. More and more he was considering that his restraint may be pointless. Leo was apparently going to pick a fight with him either way.

"Raph, you've been acting weird all night," Leonardo pointed out. "If it's about what happened-"

"I said I'm _fine_ ," Raphael snapped. "Why don't you just boss me around like you usually do, and stay out of my shell?"

Raphael noted with a slight hint of spiteful pleasure that Leonardo's face was heating up with frustration. Raph knew he shouldn't say things to purposefully aggravate his brother - he knew it but somehow it was just so easy and so tempting.

"I'm not going to start some stupid fight tonight. I've matured past that, unlike some people," Leonardo accused.

"Oh of course, Fearless," Raphael snarked back at him. "I forgot how much higher and mightier you are than everyone else."

"Fine. You want to fight, let's fight," Leonardo invited, though it wasn't as hot-blooded as Raphael expected.

In any case, Raph was ready to jump at the opportunity now. Anything to get his mind off of the uncomfortable feelings that had been festering while he had watched those turtles in the display window. He made a wide swing at Leonardo's head.

"Your arm's too stiff Raph. Relax," Leo said calmly as he blocked his brother's swing.

Raphael's only response was a frustrated grunt. So, Leonardo was going to turn this into some sort of training session. It wasn't exactly the heated, feverish fight Raphael had been craving. Raphael ground his teeth together as he made a desperate punch towards Leo's stomach. Leonardo easily twisted out of his way.

"Sloppy," Leonardo proclaimed bluntly. "You're not focusing."

"We'll see who's the one not focusing when I slam your face into the ground!" Raphael snapped back. His angry words however, did not help his poorly executed attacks. Even he could see that he was only serving to embarrass himself.

Raphael made an attempt to sweep Leonardo's legs from under him, but Leo easily avoided the kick, responding to the attack with a swift and forceful punch to Raphael's brow. Raphael yiped and lost his balance, falling onto the ground with a mortifying lack of grace.

"You're acting like more of a pain in the ass than usual," Raphael retorted, trying to cover up his humiliation. He staggered back to his feet.

"And you aren't?" Leonardo easily replied. Raphael grumbled unhappily but couldn't conjure up a good response, so instead chose to broodily glare at the sidewalk.

"The incident with Slash is still bugging you, isn't it?" Leo asked, his gaze softening a touch.

"It's just weird," Raphael admitted, albeit a bit tensely. "Not having Spike around." Leonardo visibly softened.

"You were really attached to Spike," Leonardo sympathized. "I'm sorry about what happened to him."

"Yeah," Raphael sighed, staring at the turtles in the terrarium display. "I'm sorry too. I didn't think he would…" Raphael shook his head and sighed in frustration. That uncomfortable feeling was welling back up and dissipating the anger that he had tried to replace it with. Even baiting Leo into a fight hadn't worked tonight.

Raphael thought about his other two brothers - currently confined at home. He wanted to be angry with Slash for what he had done to his family. But Raphael couldn't seem to find the energy to sustain his anger, not for very long at least.

For a while Leonardo and Raphael stood in the street, staring into the pet shop window at the turtles. The silence was long, but not uncomfortable, and it seemed in that moment finally they had come to some semblance of an understanding. Leonardo placed his hand on Raphael's shoulder, and in a rare moment of peace between the brothers, Raphael did not draw away from him.

"Come'on Raph, let's finish this patrol," Leonardo finally prompted. "Mikey is probably driving Don up the wall. We need to get back home before anyone loses their sanity."

Raphael glanced back inside the pet shop window, at the turtles in their terrarium. For a brief moment Raph remembered with warm reverence the many times he had spent with Spike, when Spike had eagerly tried out a new flavor of pizza or when he had curled up on Raphael's stomach at night. Raph basked in the sweetness of those memories.

He wished he could hold onto that feeling just a bit longer.


	12. Blood

**Rating: K+**

 ** **Word Count: 728****

 ** **Universe: 2k12 Cartoon AU****

 ** **I always thought that the whole situation with Karai and Shredder was ironic, what with his revenge begetting her revenge. This story is an AU, as a few things are pretty contradictory to canon. It probably branches away at some point during the second half of season 4. I don't own TMNT.****

* * *

 _012\. Blood_

The hospital room has a sterile feel to it. It is devoid of all decor, barren and cold, much like its occupant. There is a table by the bedside, a table that in other hospital rooms is full of flowers and cards, photographs and candies. For this patient, the table is empty. Nobody has come to comfort this particular resident.

Even now, standing in the frame of the door, Karai isn't here to offer him any condolences. She slips silently into the room, adjusting her baseball cap lower over her face. She approaches, pulls up a chair, and sits down. The man on the bed turns towards her and appraises her through heavy lidded eyes.

"Karai," he croaks out. Karai observes him with disgust. It's only the two of them - she's ensured that nobody will be in this room for another four hours.

"Saki," Karai acknowledges.

"Would it be so hard...to call a dying man...father?" Saki wheezes out. His words are barely a whisper in the air.

"I have a father. It isn't you."

Saki laughs at that, a rattling sound in his chest like an old radiator. He closes his eyes and tilts his head back against the pillow, his laughing morphing to coughs. "That's right," he agrees. "I killed your father."

Karai clenches her teeth and in a fit of passion, grabs Saki's face, digging her nails into the scarred flesh of his cheeks. Saki's dead stare meets her eyes, unflinching.

"You tried so hard to separate me from my family," Karai proclaims. She releases his face from her vice-like grip. "You tried everything you could to keep me. But it was pointless. I have the truth now Saki, and the truth has let me see you for what you are. A lying, murdering, monster. Not a father, nor a sensei. I was never your daughter."

She wants the words to burrow into his skull, to torment him until his last breath. She is going to rip away everything she has given to him. Saki will know, with crippling certainty, that he has lost her respect, her love, her loyalty - he has lost everything. Karai desperately needs him to understand the extent of her hatred.

"Do you think you've found the truth?" Saki exhales in pain. "That because your blood is tainted with Hamato lineage you must honor it? I am the one who raised you, not that rat."

"Shut up," Karai hisses, leaning in towards him. "I didn't come here to hear you spit on Hamato Yoshi's grave." Her breath warms up his cold, pale face. For a moment she wonders if she should just do it now, give Saki a quick and ungraceful ending.

Saki's eyes glaze over, and he blinks slowly. He shifts in his hospital bed, lolling his head to look at her. "No, of course not," he mutters, a ghost of a smile on his face. "You've come to fulfill the family legacy. Like your father before you, you seek to destroy your heritage."

"You are not my father!" Karai shouts, jerkily standing up to tower above the frail figure on the bed. "And the Foot is not my heritage!"

Saki stares at her for a long moment, cracked lips upturned in a smile. "You really are…" he pauses to take in a shallow breath of air. "...my daughter."

Karai's face hardens into an expression of resolution. She goes over to the monitors and machines at his bedside and begins to disconnect them with trembling hands. The humming and sputtering dies out and leaves the room as silent as a graveyard.

"How did I not see it before?" Saki murmurs, more to himself than an attempt at conversation. "History always repeats…"

"You are utterly alone Saki," Karai states in cold countenance. "Now your stain is wiped from my family's life forever."

Saki laughs.

Within a few minutes, his body has stilled and the room is noiseless. Heavy with the presence of death, Karai takes her leave, creeping out through the window and into a warm summer evening. When she reaches the roof, she finds Leonardo waiting for her. He shifts uncomfortably as she approaches.

"He's dead," Karai says. She wishes she could derive pleasure from the statement. A sense of relief spreads across Leonardo's face.

"It's over," Leonardo breathes out.

"It's over," Karai repeats. The words ring surprisingly hollow.


End file.
